Maria Hernandez was evacuated from her office next door. "The building even shook. It was pretty bad," she says.

Mayor Felix Roque, who is also a doctor, says he was in his office nearby and seeing patients when he heard a loud noise and rushed out to see what was going on.

"I saw a gentleman lying on the floor full of bricks," he says. "So initially instinct took over. I went and provided first aid and made sure I stabilized his cervical spine, made sure that his airway was clear because he wasn't breathing when I got there."

Fire officials say two buildings were evacuated - the one where the bricks fell and the one next door. A one-block radius was sealed off to traffic to prevent vibrations.

A structural engineer evaluated the buildings. "Right now it's just the parapet that failed," says Deputy Chief Mike Cranwell. "The structural integrity of the rest of the building seems to be OK at this point."